Perfection is goal for Mormon temple in Gilbert

About 40,000 visitors have come to the Gilbert Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints temple site at Pecos and Greenfield roads since a visitor center was set up inside a trailer in fall 2011.

Most have the same question: When will the temple open?

The answer from temple service missionaries Wayne and Pat Miller: We don’t know.

“The final product and the quality are more important than the time line,” project manager Bret Woods said. “It’s a very elaborate process and there’s a lot of detail that’s involved. It has to be perfect.”

It’s difficult to even estimate an opening date.

“We view the temple as God’s house,” church spokeswoman Cindy Packard said. “Therefore, it has to be as perfect as can be. They do not rush to meet any deadlines.”

Since the statue of Angel Moroni was affixed atop the temple’s single spire last May, work has progressed steadily on the awe-inspiring building. The highly detailed exterior, featuring precast concrete and stone, has taken shape.

The inside is a hive of activity, with more than 100 workers working on the glass windows, woodwork such as crown molding, columns and other aspects.

The woodwork was fabricated in blocks in the workshops of Fetzer Architectural Woodwork of Salt Lake City and transported to Gilbert, where they are assembled and put in place, Woods said. The eucalyptus and white oak are stained brown.

The art-glass windows, crafted with a distinct agave plant design giving a muted blue-green hue, are now being installed. The circular glass on top incorporates the agave flower, while the vertical glass has an agave-leaf design.

Tom Holdman of Lehi, Utah, has been creating art glass for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints since 1999. His work can be seen on at least 16 LDS temples worldwide.

Holdman Studios created the art glass for the Gilbert temple. The glass was cut into pieces, hand-painted according to the design and soldered together. The glass was transported to Gilbert in 10-foot by 3-foot pieces.

The stone tiling, baseboards and wall columns — still to be installed — were imported from Egypt and Jerusalem.

On the grounds, standing sentinel, are about 100 palm trees that line the pathway to the temple’s main entrance. The main water feature, south of the temple, is now being constructed. Still to come are circular gardens with trees, plants and shrubs that will flank the temple on the north and south and are intended to bring a sense of tranquility to the property.

A meetinghouse is also being constructed on the southeast of the grounds. It will be a venue for Sunday worship and weekday activities.

Once the building is opened, Mark Canal will assume duties as the temple engineer responsible for maintenance, management, operation and landscaping. Canal worked in a similar position at the Dallas temple for 15 years, eight of them as lead engineer.

In Gilbert, he has a full-time staff of three and a similar team for landscaping.

“Generally, the largest challenge we have is making sure the maintenance is in tiptop shape and everything’s taken care of properly. Lots of equipment and lots of facility. It all has to be maintained to the best standards possible,” Canal said.

Similar to other temples, Gilbert’s temple will use volunteers as well, especially for landscaping, cleaning and maintenance.

Canal said the church uses volunteers to keep expenses to a minimum. “That’s turned out to be a big asset for the church because the church, as a whole, they like to spread as many facilities worldwide as they can, and to do that, they need to keep expenditures at a minimum,” he said.

When the building is complete, the public will be invited to an open house that will last about four weeks to accommodate visitors “in the hundreds of thousands,” according to the Millers.

A computer reservation system will be in place to prevent large numbers of people coming to tour at the same time.

After the open house, and on the night before the temple dedication, young people will participate in a cultural night at a different venue.

After the dedication, the Millers will have completed their current mission of manning the temporary visitor center. They hope to serve further as workers at the temple. Pat Miller said the experience has been “wonderful.”

“It’s just a pleasure to be able to help be a part of building a house of the Lord,” she said.

A look at the progress of the temple, from an idea to construction, including temple facts and visiting hours:

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